Gustav lindenthal



CONSTRUCTION 0F TENSIDN IEIBERS FOR BRIDGES, c.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GUSTAV LINDENTHAL, OF NEWT YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO OTIS ll. OUTLER, OF SAME PLACE.

CONSTRUCTION OF TENSION MEMBERS FOR BRIDGES, GLC.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 608,690, dated August 9, 1898.

Application illed June 21,1897` Serial Nc. 641,647. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom if? may concern.-

Be it known that I, GUsrAv LINDENTHAL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Construction of Tension Members for Bridges and Similar Structures, of which the following is a iull, clear, and exact specification, reference being had to the 1o accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure l is an elevation; Fig. 2, a crosssection on line 2 2, indicated in Fig. l, of a wire cable and of a bearing-saddle supporting it. Fig. 3 is an elevation. Fig. 4 is a crosssection on line e et, indicated in Fig. 3, of a looped wire cable or eyebar with the shoe for supporting the same upon a cross-cable or bolt; and Figs. 5, 6, 7, S, 9, l0, and il are crosssections of bearingstrips used in my imzo proved construction of such tension members.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all figures of the drawings.

The shoes and saddle-bearings forwire cables are usually made to conform roughly to 2 5 their outward shape. The round wires of a cable rest upon the bearing-surface only on and along the line of contact and similarly only on and along lines of contact when one wire rests upon another.

The well-lnown maxim that the bearingsurfaee of constructive part must be in a certain proportion to the pressure upon the same is equally applicable to wire. lVhen a round wire bears against a flat surface, the 3 5 pressure resulting from the strain upon the wire is concentrated along the line of its contactwith the bearing-surface. The same prineiple applies to a cable composed of a number of wires. rlhis pressure has a tendency to lia-tten the wire, whereby the strength of the metal may be impaired. Vthen the wire is einbeddedin a close-iittin g groove, the bearingsurface is greatly increased and the pressure upon the wire is distributed over a larger .i 5 area, and the compression strain in the metal is diffused over a larger section.

The object of my invention is tc provide ample bearingssurface for wires in wire tension members .icr bridges and sinilar strnctures by means of suitablyasliaped strips een forming to the sectional shape, size, and

grouping of the wires of the tension member. These bearing-strips may be made of softer material than the wires and are produced by rolling or cold-drawing in suitable dies. They may be made in single strips, as shown in Figs. 5, 6, 7, and S, or in sections embracing a whole row of wires, as shown in Figs. E), l0, and ll. Those to be used between the rows of wires are set in place during the construction of the wire cable. Those used between the wire cable and the shoe or saddle maybe set in place upon the shoe or saddle before the windingof the coil is started, as explained in my application, Serial No. Gl2,G78, filed June 28, 1897.

Diierent shapes of such bearing-strips are shown in cross-section in Figs. 5, G, 7, 8, il, l0, and 1l. Those shown in Figs. 7 and S are used upon the bearing-surface of a shoe or saddle and the others between the rows or layers of wires. For oval or polygonal wires the bearing-strips are similarly shaped in seetion only, the grooves being made correspondingly to the cross-section of the wires.

In Fig. l of the drawings I have shown a section of a wire cable upon its saddle. Strips d, inserted between the rows of the wires o, are of the shape shown in Fic". 9 in section, and strips c, interposed between the bearingn surface of the saddle (l and the wire cable, are of the sectional shape shown in Fig. G. For this purpose also strips of the sectional shape shown in Fig. S might be used, il divided into three sections, as indicated in Fig. 2.

In the loop of the cable around the bearing-shoe lo (shown in Fig. 3) the strips e of the sectional shape shown in Fig. ll are used between the several rows of wire, and strips f of the sectional shape shown in Fig. 8 are used between the wire cable andthe bearingsurface of the shoe.

The bearing-strips used between the rows are provided with grooves on top and bottom. rllliose used upon the surface of the shoe or saddle have such grooves only on top, and their faces conform te the shape or surface of the shoe er saddle on which the wire cable rests. Ly inserting such strips between the IOO wires of a cable, a rope, or a strand its rcsistance against crushing pressure is greatly increased and also its resistance against tension and bending.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. Bearing-strips for cables, links, &c. composed of straight, longitudinallyarranged wires or strands, corresponding in shape and size to the shape and size of the spaces be- 1 the shape andsize of the rope or wire cable 1 and also to the shape and size of the strands comprising the rope or wire cable and having their base conformed to the shape of the bearing-surface of the shoe or saddle.

3. A Wire cable or wire link composed of straight, longitudinally arranged Wires or strands and of bearing-strips corresponding in shape and size to the shape and size of the spaces between the adjoining wires or strands and inserted between but not interlocking with them to increase their bearing-surfaces.

4. Tension members for suspension-bridges and similar structures constructed of paral lel wires and of bearing-strips, having grooves corresponding in size and shape to the size and shape of the wires, inserted between the rows or strands of the wires, and also between the wire cable and the bearing-surface upon which it rests.

In witness that I claim the improvements described in the foregoing specification I have signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GUSTAV LINDENTHAL.

Witnesses:

HENRY SCHREITER, ROBERT VALENTINE MATHEws. 

